Excerpt: "The Dallas Cowboys (http://www.nfl.com/teams/dallascowboys/profile?team=DAL) have a knack for losing in inexplicable ways that are somehow familiar (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000086808/article/dallas-cowboys-lose-tough-one-to-new-york-giants). The script changes, but the sloppiness remains.

A team, an owner, a coach can only take so much.

"Our clock's running. It's running and we're starting to get very urgent. We're starting to run out of opportunities,"Cowboys (http://www.nfl.com/teams/dallascowboys/profile?team=DAL) owner Jerry Jones said after Dallas' 29-24 loss (http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2012102810/2012/REG8/giants@cowboys) to the New York Giants (http://www.nfl.com/teams/newyorkgiants/profile?team=NYG).

A 3-4 record in the NFC is not the same as the AFC. Dallas can't afford to keep falling further behind the competition. Five of the Cowboys (http://www.nfl.com/teams/dallascowboys/profile?team=DAL)' final seven games are at home, but they are digging too big a hole. Their next "opportunity (http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2012110411/2012/REG9/cowboys@falcons)" comes at the home of the undefeated Atlanta Falcons (http://www.nfl.com/teams/atlantafalcons/profile?team=ATL).

Jones said the 2011 season was the most disappointing of his tenure as owner. We can only imagine what this one feels like. The Cowboys (http://www.nfl.com/teams/dallascowboys/profile?team=DAL) often control the action, but they give games away due to penalties, turnovers, game management, and bad coaching.